Here's the scoop: Minimalism is in, everything else is out. But before you go purging anything that doesn't spark joy, know we're talking about the artistic movement. Inspired by the 1960's shift of simplified, geometric forms made from humble materials, our Creative Director, Amy Hoban, explored the pillars of minimalism in our washed sateen collection. Featuring a monochromatic color-block and a matte look, washed sateen has all the softness of traditional sateen but without the sheen. To better understand our newest fabrication and the inspiration behind it, we asked our Product team our most burning questions.
Give us the 411: How is washed sateen different from our original sateen?
Amy Hoban, Creative Director:Both our core and washed sateen are ultra smooth to the touch and have a luxurious feel. Washed sateen differs in that we garment wash the fabric to take out the sheen of a classic sateen. The matte finish is also achieved through the chambray where white and colored yarns cross one another – creating a more causal look.
Meghan McGrady, Product Development Manager:By itself washed sateen is still a sateen weave, but it goes through a manufactured washing process which dulls the luster – giving it a more casual and lived in feel.
Walk us through the design process:
Amy:Knowing that our customers LOVE the soft hand feel of sateen while also craving the relaxed look of percale, we wanted give them something in between. We worked with our manufacturer to create a washed down version of sateen and for more interest we added the double sided fabric and color blocking.
Meghan:When we were first sourcing inspiration for our newest fabrication, we saw a quality we liked that was very similar to washed sateen. In wanting to give it more of a Parachute feel, Amy thought of using a yarn dye to create a chambray for more dimension. This also lended it self to creating the color-blocked effect!
What inspired the color-blocking in this collection?
Amy:In a very artistic sense, this collection focuses on composition and the interaction of fields of color. The chambray of our washed sateen provided the opportunity to have more of a design element in the collection. The way chambray is created – a white warp is woven on one side and another color on the other side – results in a reversible fabric. One side is rose, pewter or ivory and the other is a light variation of the first. We used this distinct coloring to create the color-blocked borders.
Meghan:Fabrication was the number one goal for this line but with our inspiration for fall being minimalism, we wanted to focus on linear patterns and color-blocking. The washed sateen was the perfect canvas for that exploration!
Washed sateen comes in rose, pewter and ivory. How did you choose those colors?
Amy:Blush linen does very well for us and we are seeing this trend grow rather than diminish, so a deeper rose color felt right. The pewter is a classic grey and great neutral that works back to our core collection. As for ivory, this color way is a fresh and mellow hue that gives a bed an understated, yet soothing look.
Meghan:Our customers love grey and white – and we do too! They're classic neutrals and it's always fun to see how many variations we can do of it. As for rose, we created a color that was similar to blush, another favorite, but with deeper hues.
Styling advice! How would you style washed sateen with other fabrics and bedding layers?
Amy:The washed sateen looks great with our core collection. I personally love the combo of washed sateen and linen. The rose looks great with any of our tan colors: sand, bone and oatmeal. Pewter looks great with so many of the light grey bedding options: fog, light grey or pebble grey.
Meghan:If you love washed sateen as much as I do, outfit the entire bed – it looks great! If you would rather pull pieces away, I recommend adding a White Sateen Duvet Cover Set to a Washed Sateen Sheet Set in rose. Wanting to go grey? Mix pewter with Sateen Sheet Set in slate. And when in doubt, Euro Pillows are your friends. If you're skeptical about combining different fabrications and textures, start there first.
How does this collection convey minimalism in the bedroom?
Amy:The color-block construction and the soft drape of the fabric are simple design elements that when combined make for a statement look.
Meghan:The color-blocking perfectly conveys minimalism. It's striking from afar but when you get closer - like a painting - you see the dimension created by the different threads.
Describe washed sateen in three words:
Amy:Soft, modern and interesting.
Meghan:Subtle, minimal and relaxed.